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Salem Public Schools

Salem Public Schools is a small urban district that serves a culturally and economically diverse student population of approximately 5100 students PK-12. School facilities include an Early Childhood Center, six K-5 elementary schools, one K-8 school, one 6-8 middle school and one 9-12 high school. According to the October 1, 2003 student census report 64% are white, 36% are minority. The Salem Public Schools have recently revised their History and Social Science curriculum based on the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, which concentrates on United States history. Although topics comprising American history content are the basis for curriculum in grades 3,5,8 and 10, themes of American history are presented at all grade levels. Salem's rich historical background and presence in early American history make it a prime location for developing an in depth study of all of Salem's public and private resources in order to enrich our curriculum and further the background knowledge for teachers as well as students.

Salem State College

Salem State College is a comprehensive, publicly supported institution of higher learning located 21 miles north of Boston. The SSC History Department includes eleven faculty members with expertise in American history. The SSC history faculty members routinely publish important books and articles, present at regional, national, and international conferences, and win prestigious fellowships, including recent ones from the National Endowment of the Humanities and the American Philosophical Society. The faculty's expertise includes the full range of American history, with special areas of emphasis in early American, constitutional, immigration, gender, and cultural history. Many faculty members have recently published works about Salem's history and/or the history of the region, making use of local sources and archives. Through its Secondary Education minor program, the Department has experience working with secondary school teachers and providing them with outstanding resources for the classroom.

Peabody Essex Museum

Located in downtown Salem, the Peabody Essex Museum is America's oldest continually operating museum. It is one of the largest museums in New England, with renowned collections of maritime art and history; American decorative art; Native American art; important collections from Asia and the Pacific Islands; a major research library; and the world's most comprehensive and finest collection of Asian art produced for the West. The museum's architecture collection includes 18 historic structures, of which 4 are National Historic Landmarks and 5 are on the National Register of Historic Places. The Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum is one of New England's largest and most heavily used research libraries. Its collections include the world's best collection of works by Nathaniel Hawthorne, important early American imprints, one of New England's largest collections of ships' logs and journals, and original documents from the 1692 Salem witch trials. It houses 400,000 volumes and over 5,000 linear feet of manuscripts.

National Park Service/SAMA

Salem Maritime National Historic Site, established in 1938, composed of public buildings, private homes, and wharves, forms the best preserved and most complete example of the maritime infrastructure that evolved to serve the extensive world trade network that was critical to the development of the United States. The main interpretive themes of the park include the use of maritime trade to establish economic independence, the role of privateering in winning the Revolutionary War, and the role of Salem's maritime community in fostering a vibrant, cosmopolitan culture.